Rust Bucket (37 page)

      Then even the Academy entered into the jumble of communications as they answered a request from Beulah Naval Station for ground troops to repel an invasion. My heart almost leaped out as I realized that the Ape-oids had just expanded the war beyond what they did before. They had landed ground troops on Beulah!

      That meant a major push was on for Beulah. We were headed into combat regardless, it seemed, of what time we arrived. More than before, I was glad we were at battle stations as we steadily closed the distance. It wasn't just a strike and then run. They intended to take the planet and stay!

      Desperately, I tried to focus on the messages concerning Beulah. I wanted to know the situation there. There! That was a message from one of their ships! At least, they weren't all caught on the ground. I could tell as I listened to desperate communications between ships that it was going very rough for them. They had nowhere to retreat to this time. Whether they had been trained before by me or not, they were being forced to fight or die.

      As we got closer, it became easier for us to pick out their messages. We picked up some of the ground messages. At least on the ground, we were holding our own. The Ape-oids were caught unawares by the cadets. Was that what the Sarge was involved in? It seemed that way to me. Had he seen a ground invasion as well where I had not? Without Beulah, Gabriel and Adriena could fall without being fired upon!

      Suddenly, I was aware that our gunners were firing at something! Then I looked and caught sight of an Ape-oid scout being torn apart just as I finished hearing his message being cut off, but not before he managed to say 'Rust Bucket' twice. Now the Ape-oids knew that we were on the way. Quickly, I flipped on the intercom and LOS before saying, "Good shooting, but he got his message off. They know we're coming. Be alert!"

***

The scout must have been placed far out to extend their sensor range. An hour later, we reached sensor range of Beulah as it started to loom large ahead of us. We could see small flashes where there was fighting over the planet and in near space. Our sensors could only pick up the ships in near space since the planet interfered with reading the others just above it. I looked at the sensors and saw that some ships were moving out at very high speed towards us. The Ape-oids had the faster ships that I thought they might. Could the
William
and
Thurman
take on two of them successfully? I would know in a few moments. I realized again that our gunners were already firing on the two alien ships. Would they also have better weapons as well?

      Our Mark IV quads were scoring hits on the two alien ships but they weren't firing. I could only hope that they didn't have an improvement in weapons as well. Just before our Mark III guns began hitting from within their range, the alien ships finally returned fire and we could feel vibrations of extreme range fire. They did have better weapons, better than the Mark III's, but not better than the Mark IV's. That was enough to make them better than seventy percent of the entire naval force. Combined with their greater speed, it was no wonder why our forces were having a difficult time. Considering how long the fighting had been going on, I was astonished that any of our forces were still active in space.

      Then one of the two alien ships absorbed enough hits to stop firing and maneuvering. One down, I thought. Then we could use our wing man tactic to its best advantage. At the same time, I could pick up messages from the remaining enemy ship saying something about the 'Rust Bucket', but I could only guess that he was saying we destroyed his buddy. Too bad, I thought further, that we don't know enough of your language to say the same when you're gone. The pilots were now in charge as they handled the two ships as if they were fighter planes from a long ago war. We had to adapt a lot of the maneuvers and tactics of that war into practical application for space. We didn't have the same limitations as an aircraft had. Some of their tactics wouldn't work for us and others that wouldn't work for them did for us.

      Then there was a shout of "we got him!" and I rechecked the sensor scope. The second enemy ship was no longer maneuvering or firing at us. Then the pilots resumed our direct course for Beulah. While there was a lull in the action for us, I let my thoughts wander to Annie, William, and Angelica. I could only hope that she picked them up and made for the cavern immediately. Inside there, I knew they would be safe. Certainly, her father didn't have time then to check on her. Doubtless, he had his hands full with everything that was happening.

      Then I remembered that we hadn't been giving the score. "Communications, give the score. Maybe we can shake up the enemy when he realizes that we're back in the game. Tell them about the scout, too. Identify us as the Rust Bucket."

      "Yes sir! With pleasure!"

      Then we were sending out a message to be heard by all and maybe stiffen the resistance our Navy was putting up and worry the Ape-oids some. After all, we had just defeated two of their new ships. Just after we finished broadcasting, the communications net came alive with all sorts of units talking at once. Alien ships that were observing communications discipline were suddenly talking. I could imagine what they were saying or asking of their leaders. Of the messages we could make out from our Navy ships, we could tell that it was encouraging them as there were shouts, it seemed, over the radio of "give 'em hell, Rust Bucket!" and "all right, Rust Bucket!" Some were even trying to confuse the enemy by identifying themselves as rust buckets. It might have been just enough to stave off the enemy for a moment and get a few quick kills, but it wasn't going to be enough until they had more ships, even if it was only the two of us. We continued to move toward the battle at full speed.

***

Then it seemed like we were suddenly in the midst of battle. Our gunners opened up at extreme range while the squadrons of enemy ships were now visible to our eyes and not just our sensors. I felt useless again as the pilots and gunners did their jobs, the pilots maneuvering by twisting and turning, adjusting speeds and jinking to avoid being hit while the gunners fired continuously at whatever enemy ship was in range of their guns. It seemed like we were in the middle of a dozen or more enemy ships with barely a Navy ship near to us. The communications officer was having a fit trying to keep score of what we were doing to damage the enemy. At least she had something to do. All I could do was sit and watch while hoping the Rust Bucket held together long enough to get us out of that as well as winning the battle.

      With so many ships firing at us, it was impossible for us to avoid being hit. Numerous small vibrations touched on the hull. It reached the point where I quit trying to keep track of how many times we had been hit. The large vibrations were the ones that worried me. Even though our bulkheads were sealed, a hit in the right place could disable us to where the enemy could close in at will and chew us up.

      Then the
Theodore
and
Edmund
were with us in the thick of battle. We were our own small squadron as we combined our forces and fought together like we never fought before. They were enough to finally frighten the enemy. Seeing four Rust Buckets together must have been too much. I almost didn't notice at first that the enemy was retreating until the home office sent a message ordering us not to follow and to allow the enemy to break off the engagement. At that point, I realized that the office was right. We probably had enough battle damage to keep us in port for the next two days. I ordered the Pennyweight squadron to return to port.

***

We landed at our port and I got out with my First Officer to view the damage from the outside. I was amazed that we had held together in space, let alone for the landing. A few more hits and we would have been dead. I was glad that our maintenance personnel took great pride in their work and repairs. Anything less than what they always did wouldn't have stood up to the punishment we put the ships through in the battle that just ended. I was about to start having maintenance work done when the office called me to report in. I left my ship reluctantly in the hands of my First Officer and reported into the office.

      Penny and Jim were both waiting for me. She said, "Come in, Dave."

      As I did, Jim shut the door. I took the seat that Penny motioned me to and lit up a cigarette.

      She continued, "I'm glad you all made it back. Well, you were right in your prediction of them attacking soon. We'll try to have the ships ready before morning. Jim is going to take over the
Thurman
then . . ."

      I felt a lump come to my throat for a moment as I heard myself being relieved of my command. I didn't think I did anything wrong. Had I? My mind reeled almost as much as when I heard the word "dismissed" a long time ago. Suddenly, my world had disappeared.

      ". . . you'll be a passenger along with the crew members you choose to take with you," she finished saying.

      There was something strange going on. Why would I be choosing crew members to take with me? Where was I going?

      ". . . forty of them. Once you get there, you'll activate the
Rust Bucket
and your orders will be unsealed."

      She was holding out an envelope to me. I accepted it with shaky hands. Something was going on, but I still wasn't sure what I was hearing. "You mean I'm being relieved from command?" I asked.

      I think that Penny realized then that she had phrased it badly and I hadn't been able to follow her properly. She must have seen how hurt I looked and she stopped for a moment. Then she rephrased what she was saying and repeated herself, "You're being transferred to command of a new ship, the
Rust Bucket.
You're not being relieved of command, Dave. You're the best captain I've got and I'm giving you the best ship I've got. That envelope in your hands contains your orders once you take over your new ship. I'm sorry you'll be a little short-handed in manning it, but you can only take two officers and forty crew members with you."

      I was doing my best to put my emotions under control again as I wondered how I could be short-handed with a crew larger than the
Thurman
normally carried. What kind of ship was this new rust bucket or was that its name? "Yes ma'am. I think I understand. I'm being transferred to a new ship. I'm to take two officers and forty crew members of my choice."

      "Don't worry. Just pick the people you know can handle anything and be ready to ship out in the morning. You'll understand better when you get to your destination. Just be glad that George got his message to us in time to get all of you back here now. Now he's going to need your help and soon. So, pick your people and rest here overnight. You've got to be rested. You won't have much time afterwards," she finished saying.

      Something told me then that I was being let in on another part of the secret, but that I would have to be patient for almost another day. I slowly got up and then went back out to the ship area where I started calling out names while Jim wrote them down and then sent them somewhere. When I finished, he sent me to the same place which was the company billeting area for the night.

***

Sleep was almost impossible for me that night as specters from the past kept haunting me while I worried about Annie, William, and Angelica. Communications were being limited by the authorities because of the alien land invasion. I only knew that four hundred brave cadets had been activated from the Academy to face them as ground troops. Whether they were winning or not, I hadn't the slightest clue.

      Outside in the ship area, work was going on to repair the Pennyweight squadron of gun ships as fast as was humanly possible.

We were up just before sunrise with our gear and wondering if the repairs had actually been finished. Except for myself, the others knew even less of what was going on. They only knew I had picked them for a special assignment.

      For myself, I only knew I had sealed orders much like I gave to my squadron on occasions before in the war when I served with the Navy. Only, I was on the other end of the envelope. I wondered what was inside that was so important that I couldn't know about it until I reached my destination?

      We left the billeting area just as Jim was coming to fetch us. He smiled and pointed at the shipyard. I led the men and women I chose out to where the ships were. We filed on board the
Thurman
where another crew was already in position. We had to ride in the cabins, dining area, and crew quarters in order to find enough space to fit in. The ships had been hurriedly patched I noticed while everyone went on board. There were lots of shiny new plates all over the four ships. They no longer looked like rust buckets. They were more like patchwork designs on a metal quilt. We hustled on board with a sense of urgency that somehow manifested itself without any help from anyone. I was the last in before the hatch was sealed and took a position on the bridge as Jim beckoned me to stick close to him.

      Quickly, we lifted off. For once, none of the ships went through a battle stations drill as we cleared the planet's surface. I thought at first that it would be a trip to another planet. Instead, we rode in orbit until we were only on the other side of Beulah where we set down in some very rugged terrain. The other three ships of our small squadron remained in space above us.

      Jim said, "This is where you and your folks get off. I've got to rejoin the squadron. You'll find your ship over there. There's some ship construction people still there who'll give you some advice before you lift off. Good luck!"

      Jim extended his hand. I accepted and shook hands before I left the bridge to make my way for where he had pointed. Behind me, some of his crew were hustling the officers and crew I selected to leave the ship and follow me.